a. Field of Invention
The invention relates generally a label and a manufacturing method thereof, and, more particularly to a label that is a clean release magnet, and a manufacturing method thereof.
b. Description of Related Art
A need exists for an improved label, having a magnet attached thereto, which may be efficiently and economically manufactured, and which may be adhered to a product and removed therefrom without damaging the product or obstructing the product label itself.
Magnetic labels are well known in the art and generally include advertising material printed on one side of label stock and a magnet permanently adhered to the other side. In use, magnetic labels are generally placed onto a metallic object and may serve the dual purpose of advertising a product, and securing paper and other such material underneath the magnetic label. Thus far, the usage potential of magnetic labels has been limited, in that the magnetic label typically requires a separate means of delivery to a customer than the advertised product itself. Moreover, if the magnetic label is affixed to an advertised product, removal of the label from the product in turn damages the product label itself, or may contaminate the product contents.
In the past, magnetic labels were generally manufactured by permanently adhering printed material onto a magnet and thereafter cutting the magnets to a desired size or shape. The conventional manufacturing methods of the past have had limited potential, in that once the magnetic labels have been cut, a seller generally has to separately distribute the magnetic label with each product. For products manufactured by the thousands or millions, such distribution requirements can significantly increase the overall cost of the product.
In the art, there currently exist various other conventional magnetic labels, as disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,237,837, 6,037,029, 6,024,278, 6,024,277, 5,924,624, 5,868,498, 5,676,307, 5,641,116, 5,458,282 and 4,488,922. The magnetic labels disclosed therein include basic components such as a label or advertising material affixed to a magnet.
These conventional magnetic labels however have several of the same disadvantages and drawbacks of the conventional magnetic labels, as described above. Some of the key drawbacks generally include the limited usage potential, wherein the seller is required to deliver the labels separately with each product, or wherein removal of the label from a product damages the product label itself. Likewise, from a manufacturing standpoint, the labels described in the above-identified U.S. Patents also do not facilitate or reduce the cost of manufacturing and distribution of products with the labels.